Motorola Strikes Back At Apple With New Antenna FAQ Page

With Apple removing the pictures and videos attenuating the antenna issues on all phones, Antennagate seems to be dying down but that doesn’t stop Motorola. The popular manufacturer known for popular rival handsets such as the Droid, Droid X, and soon to be Droid 2 seems to be capitalizing on “antennagate” for as long as possible. Motorola decided to get serious about the underlying issue and works to address questions and put many doubts to rest by putting a FAQ page dedicated solely to “Antenna Design and Call Quality.” If you are interested in checking out all the questions and give it a whirl, check out the FAQ page at the official Motorola site by clicking here.

The FAQ seems to take the higher road by steering clear of any references to specific devices or manufacturers. Here are a few of the questions we felt were important:

Q: When Motorola is designing a new phone, how does it take the design of the antenna into account? Is it a standard component that’s added in the same manner to each phone, or is it unique to each phone?
A: Motorola begins the antenna design very early in the product design process, typically when the phone is in the initial design phases. The combination of size, features, materials, as well as the selection of the carrier customer, make the antenna design unique for each phone. Therefore each smart phone has a customized antenna design.

Q: How do you test the antenna and certify that it works? What different types of tests do you run?
A: Motorola has a series of internal radiated test requirements that are run before a phone can receive Motorola’s internal approval to be shipped externally. These tests are conducted in anechoic chambers that isolate the antenna performance and allow highly calibrated measurements. In addition to anechoic chamber testing, the phone is also is run through field tests with real users to gauge field performance.

Q. Describe the call quality on DROID X.
A: DROID X utilizes high performance dual diversity antennas along with innovative software algorithms (software code) to improve signal strength, reduce dropped calls and improve data performance.

Over 80 software algorithm improvements have been developed over the last 5 years for the purpose of improving call quality.

So what do you think of Motorola’s move and the FAQ page? Let us know in the comments below!

Sources: Motorola